Yanuncay residents strengthen security; Buy fresh, natural foods at local fairs; Bus union protests gang attack in Los Rios; Join the Cuenca bike tour

Lunes, 22/7/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 20/7 (1 article):
Una ruta turística en ‘bici’ (A tourist route by bike) – Among the various ways to explore Cuenca, doing it by bike is a different experience and for some, unique. Juan Manuel Arévalo and Keven Maldonado started “Cuenca Bike Tours” last June. You can reserve a spot on the tours which start a las 9:00 from lunes to sábado by calling 097 882 1902. You can also arrange private tours. The tour starts on the calle Bajada del Padrón in front of the Casa del Río. The route goes to av. Solano with a stop at the Colegio Benigno Malo where you will learn about the building. It continues toTres Puentes and along 27 de Febrero to the Jardín Botánico where you will learn about the animals, plants, medicinal plants and ancestral crops.

The Feria Agroecológica del Buen Vivir on av. México y av. De las Américas, sponsored by the Azuay Prefectura, offers fresh organic fruits and vegetables to Cuenca customers. (El Mercurio)

There will be several stops along the route where you will learn about different aspects of Cuenca. After the Botanical Garden, you will pedal to the parque El Paraísol, then to Huayna Cápac and the Parque Arqueológico Pumapungo. The return will be along Paseo Tres de Noviembre to the Puente Roto then the puente Mariano Moreno and back to the starting point. The tour takes 3 to 3-1/2 hours with the stops taking 15-20 minutes. The cost of the tour is $10 which is used to rent the bike, helmet and lock. The guides receive only tips because their intention is to promote the use of bicycles. <So don’t, please don’t reinforce the perception of gringos being stingy and stiff the guides.>

Titular –

Joe Biden declina candidatura y endosa a K. Harris (Joe Biden declines candidacy and endorses K. Harris) – 180 degree difference from Noboa who’s actively trying to keep VP Abad from taking over presidential duties while he campaigns for president.

De El Mercurio del domingo, 21/7 (1 article):
Carapaz, rey de la montaña (Carapaz, king of the mountain) – <I know I don’t translate sports, but this is more a national pride issue. But I don’t understand the racing and scoring technicalities, so I’ve probably got stuff wrong even after a lot of Googling the Tour de France.> He won a yellow maillot which signifies he had the fastest overall time at some point in the race. He won another stage, and finished with the red polka dot jersey which is awarded to the Tour de France’s leader of the best climber classification – the King of the Mountain. Carapaz met his goals for the race since he wasn’t able to prepare in the ideal manner for the Tour de France after a fall in Switzerland and a subsequent infection. <Probably helped that he started cycling high in the Andes rather than at sea level.>

Cuenca –

De El Mercurio del domingo, 21/7 (1 article):
Alimentos frescos y naturales en ferias locales (Fresh and natural foods at local fairs) – From farm to table is the characteristic of the agro-ecological fairs in the city. The best known are the Feria Agroecológica del Buen Vivir on av. México y av. De las Américas (ex-CREA); the 2 fairs of the Prefectura del Azuay which are on av. Max Uhle and in the Ciudadela Kennedy; and the fair behind El Tiempo on Rodrigo de Triana y La Rábida. They offer vegetables, greens, fruit, choclo, as well as dairy products, honey, and medicinal plants direct from the producer to the consumer.

The producers, who do not use chemicals to fumigate or fertilize the plants plants come from different parishes in Cuenca, Azuay, and as far as Cañar and Morona Santiago. The feria at the ex-CREA site now sells ecological charcoal made from a base of wood chips, seed residues, coconut husks and coconut, and other natural residues. <I wonder if it makes your grilled food taste better. It probably won’t taste like solvents unless you fire them up with lighter fluid.> Hours for the Feria Agroecológic del Buen Vivir are on miércoles y sábados from 5:30 to 12:00. The ferias of the Prefectura del Azuay are on weekends from 6:00 to 14:00.

Sucesos –

Fortalecen seguridad en el biocorredor Yanuncay (Strengthening security in the Yanuncay biocorridor) – Between 2013 and 2022, 4 bodies have been abandoned in the bio-corridor Yanuncay, the vía Barabón-Sústag-Soldados in San Joaquín. There have been robberies of houses and livestock. The neighbors have taken security measures for themselves after authorities did not respond to their requests for help. Last miércoles, they installed 8 double lenses cameras from Cáñaro to San José, as well as community alarms. Arturo Guamán, security coordinator of the San José barrio said that there are many restaurants catering to tourists in the area. The plan is to continue installing cameras along the length of the bio-corridor. There is a WhatsApp chat that alerts residents of the presence of delinquents. Residents also have cell phones with an App that can monitor the cameras and activate a panic button which activates alarms in case of an assault or emergency. When the alarms are activated, there are also air horns that sound to dissuade criminals from doing whatever they were doing.

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 20/7 (1 article):
<Note that this article is from sábado and a lot could have changed by the time the Periodico hits your inbox.> Transportistas y el FUT llaman a asmbleas el 25 (Transporters and the FUT call for assemblies on 25) – The killing of 5 people in a gang-related attack on an interprovincial bus on the vía Babahoyo-San Juan affected the relation between the Government of Daniel Noboa and the federations of passenger transporters. They threatened to radicalized protests because of the violence on the roads including murders, extorsion, robberies and kidnappings. They decided to call for a strike el jueves, 25/7. Nelson Erazo, president of the Frente Popular, confirmed the participation of his union in the call by the Frente Unitario de Trabajadores (FUT). They also called for unity from the labor sector, youth, the indigenous movement, and social sectors.

He thought it would be needed to unify actions to roll back the fuel price increases as well as addressing other measures the government has announced. These include privatizing the Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline) <How do you feel about oils spills in the Andes when the overriding motive for managing the OCP will be profits at any cost?>, layoffs in the public sector and a new tax reform.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne